The right music can uplift any content, and podcasts are one of those content types.
If you make podcasts, you’d need to make them stand out and keep your listeners engaged throughout. The right podcast music can help you do that. However, certain myths about podcast music often distract newby podcasters and keep them from making the most out of their content.
Table of Content
| ● 3 Myths about Using Music in Podcast |
| ● How to Legally Find and Use Music? |
| ● Beatoven: The Best Place For Royalty-Free Podcast Music |
| ● Conclusion |
This blog busts three such myths about podcast music. Stay tuned to find out.
3 Myths about Using Music in Podcast
Keep your podcast content fresh, interactive and engaging by not falling for these myths.
1. The 10-Second Rule
Half knowledge is more dangerous than complete unawareness. Podcasters may often fall to the myth that including a piece of music in their podcast is okay as long as the length of the music clip does not exceed 10 seconds.
Although the source of this statement is unclear, in reality, this isn’t true. Using any piece of copyrighted music without the right permissions can get you in trouble.
This can also pose tricky situations where the song does not belong to a label but to an independent artist. However, even in such cases, written permission must be acquired from the artist.
Also, if the piece of music is recent but has not yet been copyrighted, it may be in the process. Using such pieces may seem fine for now, but once the copyright processes finalize, you may receive a copyright claim or strike.
To avoid such trouble, it’s best not to use another artist’s intellectual property without permission.
2. Crediting the Artist or Copyright Owner
Another myth that can put you in trouble is, “once you have credited the music producer or label, you are good to go and can use their music without dispute.”
This is very wrong. The song you are using is still under copyright protection, which means it can not be used without written permission from the publishing label or the independent artist who owns the full rights. If the artist and label share a song’s rights, both should be contacted for permission to reuse.
Apart from that, it’s also advisable to check the artist’s YouTube page or video descriptions for details regarding their copyright policies. Otherwise, it’s always best to use royalty-free music for your podcasts.
3. If I’m Not Monetizing it, I must be Safe
This is another great myth. Many creators consider using other artists’ musical work in their content and assume it’s okay as they are not churning money out of it.
Whether you are making money out of someone’s copyrighted content or not, if you are including it in your content without permission, you are going against the law. Also, if a creator illegally using copyrighted music does not have an audience at the moment, sooner or later, they may have. This may confuse viewers and listeners about the music’s real owner.
Using royalty-free music for podcasts is a creator’s best bet.
How to Legally Find and Use Music?
Now comes the important question, “if I can’t use music that belongs to someone else, where to find podcast background music and how to use it?” Well, this section answers those questions.
Before we talk about legally finding and using music, let’s try to understand what is legal and illegal. Here’s a description of different music licenses that define who can use music and how.
Public Domain Music
If the copyrights of a music piece do not belong to any artist or label, it is considered in the public domain. The songs, tracks and sound effects in this category are free for creators to use.
If you find a public domain song and wish to use it in your podcast, you can go ahead without worrying about permissions.
To check if a song is in the public domain, you can visit PDINFO.
Music Under Creative Commons License
Music pieces under this license are free to use after some modifications. For example, if you find a piece under a creative commons license, you can make some modifications and include it in your content.
Royalty-Free Music
Royalty-free music for podcasts is the most preferable and safest option for any podcast creator. This license allows creators to copy and reuse a musical piece (originally belonging to another artist) as many times and as long as they desire.
However, it’s important to note that the right to royalty and complete copyright remains with the owner. The license allows other creators to use it without dispute.
Speaking of where you can find royalty-free music for podcasts, we have written a whole article about seven places that offer royalty-free sound effects and music. However, one of the suitable mentions in that list is Beatoven.
Beatoven: The Best Place For Royalty-Free Podcast Music
Ever had an idea for your podcast’s intro music but couldn’t find out how to bring it to life? Beatoven is the answer.
It’s an AI-based tool that allows users to make music for their scenic and creative purposes in a few clicks.
Whether you are trying to set the tone before your podcast or trying to build tension as a serious topic begins, Beatoven gives you a free hand for picking the mood, tempo, and genre for your music before composing it in around 10 seconds.
And if you wish to make changes, you are free to do so. Compose your first podcast music piece on Beatoven today. Set the right mood, pick the right genre, make necessary changes, download the track and use it in your content. With Beatoven, it’s all easy and accessible.
Click here to get started.
Conclusion
Before adding a music track to your podcast, it’s crucial to ensure it does not violate copyright policies. In this blog, we discussed and busted three copyright myths about podcast music and how to find and use podcast music. Hopefully, this was helpful.
